Author sues Santa Rosa publisher Damnation Books over typos in book

A Santa Rosa publisher of horror and fantasy books is being sued by an author who claims the company sullied her reputation as a wordsmith by inserting typos in her latest work.

Author Terri Bruce contends Damnation Books refused to correct 260 mistakes that she caught in the final proof of "Thereafter," damaging her career and costing her money.

A Sonoma County judge on Wednesday agreed there was evidence to support Bruce's claim and ordered the publisher to stop selling, distributing or promoting the novel until the dispute is resolved.

The book appeared to have been listed for sale on Amazon. A paperback version of her first book, "Hereafter," was going for $16.31.

"Plaintiff has demonstrated through competent evidence that she will likely prevail in this matter," Daum wrote in his tentative ruling.

Bruce, who is based in New England, didn't respond Wednesday to an email request for comment. But she said on the crowd-funding website she's using to raise legal fees that the suit came after many pleas to correct a "flawed book."

She said she urged Damnation Books to fix mistakes not contained in the manuscript, including bad grammar, improper capitalization and large blocks of text without paragraph marks, before the book was published.

But when she pointed out the problems, Damnation refused to make the changes, saying they made the book better, she said.

The book was published May 1, she said.

"I am heartbroken and mortified," she said on the website, Gofundme.com. "This book represents two years of blood, sweat and tears, and it's ruined."